OCCASIONALLY your partner’s opinion is welcome. In some rare instances, it’s even ‘asked for’. But when it comes to certain topics, there’s not a chance in hell you’ll ever listen. Take these, for example.
Your driving
It’s never okay for one partner to criticise the other’s driving. It’s such a part of who you are it’s like complaining about your eyeballs or the fact that you never listen. So any cries of ‘indicate’ or ‘slow down’ or ‘stop eating a sandwich on the phone’ are to be ignored. And if they start suggesting directions, definitely ignore them even if they’re right – they might start thinking their opinion matters to you.
Anything you’re constructing
Be it a treehouse for the kids or a large salad, if you’re in the creative zone, your loved one’s opinion is void. They can’t see what you can see. They don’t know that any birthday cake can be saved with enough icing, no matter how burnt… or that your rotting garden shed is ideal to be converted into a DIY sauna. They’re just jealous of your slipshod creative skills. Yes, that’ll be it.
Your drinking habits
If your partner so much as raises an eyebrow when you suggest another round or open another bottle, zone out before they even open their mouth. You already know what they’re going to say – they’ll complain about how boring you are when drunk and remind you it’s only 2pm blah blah blah. Encourage them and you’ll just get more trivial nit-picking about why you can’t stand up.
That thing you just asked their opinion about
Just because you specifically asked their opinion about your new jumper or whether they think it’s a good idea to have a beehive at the bottom of the garden and make your own honey doesn’t mean you intended to listen to the answer. Especially if it’s not the answer you wanted to hear. Frankly you wonder if they really love you if they can’t be arsed to read your mind.
The fact you’re not listening to them
If your partner complains that you promised to keep Saturday free for your mother-in-law’s birthday dinner, but didn’t, don’t listen. It’s just a bunch of cliches like ‘you never listen to me’. They should thank you for making them feel good about being right for once. And it IS just once. They’re wrong 99.99999 per cent of the time, as they should know.
